Principal Financial Group Inc. Trims Stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) by 11.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,887,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 484,467 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.11% of Wells Fargo & Company worth $219,615,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Income Research & Management purchased a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company in the third quarter worth about $211,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 53.7% during the second quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp increased its holdings in Wells Fargo & Company by 704.3% during the first quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 740 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 648 shares during the period. 75.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Wells Fargo & Company

In other Wells Fargo & Company news, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.70, for a total transaction of $3,822,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 163,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,421,957. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Ather Williams III sold 60,000 shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.70, for a total transaction of $3,822,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 163,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,421,957. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Beurden Saul Van sold 35,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.99, for a total transaction of $2,169,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 126,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,853,327.13. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wells Fargo & Company Stock Down 3.7 %

Shares of WFC stock opened at $69.79 on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company has a fifty-two week low of $40.27 and a fifty-two week high of $74.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $232.37 billion, a PE ratio of 14.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $59.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.72.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.14. Wells Fargo & Company had a net margin of 14.43% and a return on equity of 12.25%. The company had revenue of $20.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.39 EPS. Wells Fargo & Company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Wells Fargo & Company will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.29%. Wells Fargo & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WFC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Compass Point upped their target price on Wells Fargo & Company from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $62.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Wolfe Research upgraded Wells Fargo & Company from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $65.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $61.00 price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 15th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.12.

About Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company, a financial services company, provides diversified banking, investment, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance products and services in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Consumer Banking and Lending; Commercial Banking; Corporate and Investment Banking; and Wealth and Investment Management.